False floor for cars.



No. 658,]59. Patented. Sept. l8, I900. G. J. SANTA CRUZ.

FALSE FLOOR-FOR CABS.

(Application filed June 27, 1900.]

(No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet I.

No. 658,l59. Patented Sept. l8, I900.

G. J. SANTA CRUZ.

FALSE FLOOR FUR CABS. (Application filed June 27, 1900.) (No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I No. 658,159. Patented Sept. I8, I900.

G. J. SANTA cnuz. FALSE FLOOR FOB CARS.

(Application filed June 27, 1900.)

(No Model.) 4 Sheets$heet 3.

N0. 658 ,l59. Patented Sept. l8, I900. I

a. J. SANTA cnuz. FALSE FLOUR FOR CARS.

(Application filed June 27, 1900.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

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UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE J. SANTA CRUZ, OF MOBILE, ALABAMA.

FALSE FLOOR FOR cARs. f

SPEGIFIGATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 658,159, dated September 18, 1900.

Application filed June 2'7, 1900- Serial No. 21,823. (No model.) 7

To all whom it meaty concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE J. SANTA CRUZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mobile, in the county of Mobile and State of Alabama, have invented a new and useful False Floor for Cars, ofwh'ich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to sectional open-work have been directed principally to the design.

and construction of freight-cars adapted to accommodate the various kinds of products mentioned. Freight-cars as ordinarily built to carry heavy freightsuch as general merchandise, pig-iron, grain in bulk, &c.-are not suitable for the transportation of vegetables and other products of a perishable nature on account of their closeness and the lack of proper ventilation. I

The principal object of my invention, therefore, is to produce a sectional open-work floor of convenient and economical construction, which may be easily placed in or removed from railway-cars or transportation-vehicles, which shall allow the free circulation of air or liquid beneath the freight, and be adapted to fold up against the ends and sides of the car free of the door-spaces.

A further object of my invention is to so construct the side sections of ,my floor that.

the same may be used as grain-doors when folded against the walls of the car.

The invention consists of a certain arrangementof the parts and details of construction hereinafter to be described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts. I

. Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a sectional plan view of a freight-car to which my invention is applied. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of same, the sections being shown in raised position by dotted lines. 3 is a sectional plan view showing a modifi- Fig.

cation of ,the end section. Fig. 4 is a crosssectional view of the car, showing an end section in its raised position; and Fig. 5 is a sectional view of same, taken on the line 00 w of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view showing my door adapted for use as a grain- Fig. 7 is a sectional plan view of the sections, of which four extend in pairs nearly the length of the ear and two are placed transo versely, one at each end. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a. a represent two of the side sections of the false floor in position for use, each extending from the middle of the car to the end section b. hinged to the main floor of the car by any suitable means, such as the bolts a, passing through two of the battens d of said section and through the eyebolts e, secured to the main floor. suitable for the purpose maybe used, however. Thus hinged section b may be folded up and back against the end of the car, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, where it is held in place by the button or angle-iron f or 85 any other suitable means. The side sections are slidingly hinged to the main floor near the sides of the car by means of the eyebolts e, of which two in each hinge are secured to the batten d of the section and three to the 0.

bolts are as shown by'the dotted lines in Fig. 5

1 and by the whole lines in Fig. 2, the spaces between them being such as to allow'of the proper lateral movement of the sections. j

Now when it is desired to fold up my floor;

out of the way either for the purpose of clean- I00 ing the car or for the accommodation of freight, for which the slat floor would not be suitable, the end sections are first secured to the end walls of the car, as before described.

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of This latter is Any well-known form of hinge 8o modate the different kinds.

The side sections are next raised up and pushed toward the ends of the car, the eyebolts sliding upon the rods until they occupy the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, where they fit closely against the walls, leaving the doorways A of the car entirely free, and in which position they are securely held by the buttonsf. It is obvious that any sliding hinge suitable for my purpose may be employed; but the one just described ispreferred.

The advantages of this construction and arrangement are obvious. As the number of cars employed on a railway for the shipment of different kinds of freight varies with the seasons of the year and the production, and as a car is frequently required to carry one kind of freight out and another on its return trip it is desirable to so equip many of them that they may be easily converted to accom- W'here a movable slat floor is employed, if it be detachable it is liable to become separated from the car and lost or broken; but by my construction it is a permanent fixture in the car and is divided into convenient sections which may be quickly and easily folded up out of .the way, leaving the doorways clear and occupying little of the available space. My floor also is of extremely simple and cheap construction, is strong and durable, and may be easily removed from the car for repairs or any other purpose by removing the bolts upon which the sections are hinged. In this and the subsequently-described forms of my invention an im port-ant feature is the construction of the battens or scantlings upon which the slats of the floor rest. The lower sides of these are notched to form a series of inverted- U-shaped openings, the exact form of which may be varied at pleasure. These permit cross-ventilation and allow the air to circulate freely in all directions without materially lessening the solidity or strength of the floor itself. This is clearly shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5.

It is sometimes desirable to arrange the slats of my floor longitudinally in the car, in which case the battens would of course be transversely placed, as shown in Fig. 3. Here the side sections are hinged by passing the rods or bolts 0 through eyebolts, as before described, and through holes bored for the purpose in the battens of the section, the

5 pierced battens sliding along the ,rods when the sections are run back toward the ends of the car.

WVhile freight-cars are often constructed with square inside corners, as shown in Fig. 1, they are frequently provided with cornerpieces g, as shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. When this is the case, it is obvious that as the end sections are hinged'as near the ends of the car as practicable, so as to lie close to them when folded back, their end slats would prevent this position. To obviate this difficulty, these end slats are movably connected with the rest of the section by pivoting the ends of the su pporting-lmttens (1, as at (1. (Shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3 and by whole lines in Figs. 4 and 5.) In Fig. 4 this section is seen folded against the end of the car, the end slats being brought toward the observer and accom mod-ating themselves to the cornerpieces g. This is clearly shown in Fig. 5, which is a sectional plan view on the linecc a; of Fig. 4.

When cars fitted with my improved floor are used for the transportation of grain in bulk, the slat floor is not necessary for venti lating purposes and may be folded against the sides of the car. In this connection my floor by a slight alteration in its construction may be adapted to serve the purpose of agrain-door, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Here the slats of the side sections coming opposite the car-doorways and a short distance beyond are replaced by a solid floorh, resting on the battens d, so that when raised and secured in the position shown in Fig. 6 a good grain-door is formed, the solid portion of the movable floor fitting snugly against the sill and lower portion of the door-frame.

In order to facilitate the discharge of the grain, a hole 1' is out in the solid portion of the false floor near the door-sill. This is provided with a slide 70, working in slots in the battens d and adapted to be raised or lowered to allow or check the flow of grain from the opening. on is a stop-strip to prevent the slide from being raised entirely out and becoming detached from the floor. When the false floor is thrown down in the position shown in Fig. '7, these slides are concealed and protected from injury by the solid portions h of the floor.

In applying my invention to refrigeratorcars having ventilating-openings between the ice-chamber and the interior of the car ithas been found that the circulation of air from the lower of said opeuingsis often impeded by the freight being piled against the screen covering it. One form of such a car fitted with my flooring is shown in Figs. 8 and 9, in which Orepresents the ice-chamber at one end of the car,provided with a cover D and having a screened upper opening E. The lower opening E is provided with a screen E, hinged at its upper edge to the partition F, the movable members of said hinges extending across the screen and two of them, a a, being extended to form part of the hinge of the floor end section 12. These extension-pieces n n are slotted, so as form a loose hinge with the rod or bolt 0, which secures them to the battens of the floor-section, as shown. This construction permits the said end section after being thrown down for use to be drawn a short distance from the partition, so that the freight loaded upon it cannot obstruct the opening E, but will rest against the hinged screen, thus allowing the cooled air to enter and circulate freely under the false floor. When 'not in use, the section may be shoved back claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a car, the combination of a sectional floor comprising end sections and intermediate sections, each of said sections being made up of slats and battens as described, the end sections being hinged to the ends of the car and adapted to be folded up thereagainst, while the intermediate sections are adapted to be folded up against the sides of the car, substantially'as described.

2. In a car, the combination with the main floor, of a sectional open-work floor, adapted to rest on the main floor, each of said sections being hinged at its edge to the car-body, and the sections adjacent to the car-door being slidingly mounted in place, substantially as described.

3. In a car, the combination with thd carbody, of a sectional floor, said sections being hinged to the car-body and adapted to cover the main floor, each end section having pivoted ends, substantially as described. I

4. In a car, the combination 'with a carbody, of a sectional floor, each section being made up of slats and battens, and hinged to the car-body, the end sections having pivoted ends and the intermediate sections having a sliding connection with the car-body so as to permit them to be moved clear-0f the doorspace, substantially as described.

5. In a refrigerator-car, the combination with an ice-chamber located in the end of the car, and a pivoted screen located at the lower end of the ice-chamber, of a sectional openwork floor, the section of the floor adjacent to the ice-chamber being pivotally connected with the lower edge of the screen, the remaining sections of the sectional floor being hinged to the car-body, substantially as described.

6. In a car, the combination with a ventilating-opening at the end thereof near the floor, a hinged screen adapted to cover said opening, of a sectional open-work floor, the section adjacent to said opening being loosely hinged to the lower edge of said screen, and the remaining sections of the sectional floor being hinged to the car-body, substantially as described.

.7. In a car, the combination of a sectional floor comprising end and side sections, the side sections adjacent to the door-space bein g slidingly hinged to the car-body and adapted to form the car-door, substantially as described.

8. In a car, the combination of a sectional open-work floor comprising end and side sections, each of said side sections adjacent to the door-space being slidingly hinged to the car-body and provided with a closed portion opposite the door-space, substantially as ,described.

9. In a car, the combination of a sectional open-work floor comprising end and side sections, each of said side sections adjacent to the door-space being slidingly hinged to the car-body and provided with a closed portion opposite the door-space, a discharge-opening in said closed portion, and a slide to control the discharge therefrom, substantially as described.

In testimony whereofi I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

, GEORGE J. SANTA CRUZ.

Witnesses:

J. W. COREY, O. L. HUMPHREY. 

